Universal buys film rights to "Asteroids"

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Reuters is reporting that movie producer Universal has just acquired the movie rights to 1979's arcade smash hit "Asteroids", following a four-studio bidding war.

Matthew Lopez, the chap behind "Race to Witch Mountain", will be writing the script. It's billed as a completely new story - with a plot built entirely from scratch. Given that the original game has no real plot, that's probably wise.

Universal has some experience of that, Reuters says, as it's currently in the middle of translating Hasbro's "Battleships" and "Candyland" board games into an onscreen experience.

Given how awful the Mario, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider films turned out, we're not holding our breath on this one.